Today, February 28th, the League of American Theatres and Producers launched the Brooklyn phase of "Family First Nights," a national program designed for at-risk families to attend theatre together on a regular basis, with Coney Island's South Brooklyn Youth Consortium and the Broadway musical The Color Purple.
"Family First Nights" provides orchestra tickets for families who may not otherwise be able to attend live theatre. "Families attend the theatre together three times per year, and participate in post performance discussions. In addition, all participating families receive family theatre packets, including study guides about the story of the production, backstage information about what to expect when they get to the theatre, and information about Times Square, to help familiarize them with the production," according to press notes.
At today's launch event, the South Brooklyn families were met by New York City Council Member Domenic M. Recchia Jr., (District 47 in South Brooklyn), Chairman of the Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations of the New York City Council, who was instrumental in obtaining city funding for the program from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and Department of Youth and Community Development.
The families were also treated to a special appearance by choreographer, director, performer and Tony Award-nominee
Maurice Hines and seven time Grammy Award winner Maurice White, of the band Earth, Wind and Fire; the two are currently working together on the upcoming Broadway musical
Hot Feet. The performers were on hand to show their support for Family First Nights, and to express their commitment to bringing new audiences to the theatre. They met the families at the South Brooklyn Youth Consortium as they boarded buses to attend
The Color Purple, based on Alice Walker's acclaimed novel, and starring LaChanze. The show is the first of three productions the families will see.
After the performance, the families had the unique opportunity to attend a discussion with staff from The League and
The Color Purple cast members, who gathered feedback from the families about their theatrical experience. One hundred families in total will participate throughout the program.
"Sixty-two percent of Broadway theatergoers surveyed said that their parents or other adult family members took them to the theatre as a child or teenager," commented
Jed Bernstein, President of the League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. "By engaging the entire family and offering repeated exposure through multiple visits, this project may begin to fill in a gap where no programming currently exists."
Funding for this program comes from the producers of
The Color Purple (among them Oprah Winfrey) and the other participating shows, The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc., and The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and Department of Youth and Community Development. The South Brooklyn Youth Consortium was responsible for identifying appropriate families, coordinating family participation, and organizing transportation and other logistics.
For more information on the League of American Theatres and Producers, visit
www.livebroadway.com. For more on
The Color Purple, visit
www.colorpurple.com.
